Excluding water, tea is the most popular beverage consumed by man. Tea is very refreshing, can be served either hot or cold, and has been made commercially available for many years. Lipton®, for example, is the world's leading brand of tea, made available in over 110 countries by Unilever.
Today, modern scientists are exploring the exciting potential of tea, which has a unique combination of natural antioxidants known as flavonoids that can include catechins, flavonols and flavonol glucosides. Taken regularly, tea can help improve vascular function, combat fatigue, reduce cholesterol levels and increase feelings of vitality.
Antioxidants found in tea, especially green tea, are believed to reduce the risk of cancer. In fact, studies indicate that antioxidants lower the risks of cancer in the upper digestive tract, colon, rectum, pancreas and breasts.
Since antioxidants are associated with good health, it is of increasing interest to incorporate antioxidants into consumable compositions. The difficulty, however, is to add antioxidants to consumable compositions without compromising the taste and stability of the same. Particularly, it is of increasing interests to incorporate green tea antioxidants into consumable compositions, and especially, in areas where green tea is not popular. This invention, therefore, is directed to a consumable composition comprising increased levels of antioxidants. The consumable composition of this invention comprises a mixture of theaflavin, thearubigin, and catechin wherein at least about 50.0% by weight of the mixture is theaflavin and thearubigin. The consumable composition of this invention, unexpectedly, has good taste and appearance characteristics, as well as the health advantages associated with antioxidants.